Jurgen Klopp has his sights set on immediate revenge over Chelsea after the Blues ended Liverpool’s perfect start to the season.
Eden Hazard’s superb late solo effort after coming off the bench clinched a 2-1 Carabao Cup victory for Chelsea at Anfield on Wednesday night.
Both teams fielded largely second string outfits and will be back to full strength for this weekend’s blockbuster Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge.
But Klopp admitted there is added motivation for the Reds, having tasted defeat for the first time in this campaign following seven consecutive victories in all competitions.
The Liverpool manager said: “We want to strike back, of course, but you lose once, it can happen.
“Striking back is a duty in sport, a big part of what I love. In a season you always play twice. It’s not easy to play a team in August and then say in May ‘let’s strike back’ but in three days, it’s possible. Let’s try.
“It will not be an easy game, both teams know that. But the best preparation for the Saturday game is the Wednesday game, because you can never know more about an opponent than in a match against them.
“Of course there will be a few different players on the pitch, but we try to use our information from Wednesday to do it better.”
The league leaders can open up a five-point gap between themselves and Chelsea if they continue their 100 per cent top-flight record this term at teatime on Saturday.
But Klopp insisted: I don’t think about the five-point gap, and the five-point gap with 31 games to go is nothing. It’s only about gaining points on our account.”